Greg Ives gives reality check on ‘pressure’ for Dale Jr. and Kelley Earnhardt’s first Daytona 500 car: “There’s going to be eyes on the team”

Greg Ives has been called in to call the shots for JR Motorsports' NASCAR Cup Series debut in the upcoming Daytona 500 race. With this historic feat by the Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Kelley Earnhardt-owned team, the veteran crew chief admitted to having pressure for the Great American Race.

JRM predominantly competes in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, fielding four full-time entries for Justin Allgaier, Sammy Smith, Carson Kvapil, and Connor Zilisch. However, earlier this year, the two-time Daytona 500 winner Dale Jr. announced his team's entry to NASCAR's premier division's season-opening race at Daytona International Speedway. 2024 Xfinity champion Allgaier will wheel in this open-car entry in the No. 40 Chevrolet for a chance to qualify for the 200-lap race. Moreover, Hall of Famer Dale Jr. roped in his former Hendrick Motorsports right-hand man Greg Ives to make this iconic debut successful at Daytona.

In a recent conversation with Hendrick Motorsports, the NASCAR veteran shared his honest feelings on the weight and the reality check on qualifying the No. 40 Chevy.

"There's definitely a lot of pressure and there's going to be eyes on the whole team and what speed we have," Greg Ives said via Hendrick Motorsports. "I feel like there's a tendency to think, 'We'll just have speed and get in,' and that's not the reality. The reality is it takes a lot of work to be good, no matter what level you race at or what race team."

He continued:

"So, the quality of the car we have to bring isn't one that is inferior to anybody who could potentially run in the top 10 or qualify on the front row. That's our mindset that has to go into it and that's the dedication that Dale and Kelley and everyone at JR Motorsports is willing to put into it."

Greg Ives has a history of serving as the crew chief for Dale Jr. in the final couple of years of the latter's Cup Series career. Following Junior's retirement, Ives worked with Alex Bowman, with whom he went on to bring to pole position and four-second spots in the esteemed Daytona 500 race.

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"I saw how many times he qualified a car on front row": Dale Earnhardt Jr. delivers a positive stance on Greg Ives for Daytona 500

From taking Chase Elliott to Xfinity titles to calling the shots for Dale Earnhardt Jr., Greg Ives has had a storied career as a crew chief in the NASCAR touring series. As a result, he was picked by Dale Jr. for JR Motorsports' one-off race in the Cup Series.

In a media interaction via FanBuzz, the 26-time Cup race winner Dale Jr. opened up on having high optimism for the seasoned crew chief.

"I saw how many times he's qualified a car on the front row at Daytona," Dale Earnhardt Jr said. "I'm like, do you have any magic left, Greg? Let's go to the track and see what we can do... It won't be easy. There will be some very tough competition. I was confident that Greg understood, better than anybody, the things that we would all need to gather into place to go there with the best opportunity we could."

With one week remaining for the prestigious Daytona 500 event, Justin Allgaier and the No. 40 Chevy will attempt to qualify for the iconic 500-mile qualifying race at Daytona Beach, Florida on February 12.